Your Guide to Wedding Anniversary Gemstones

Just as each month has a gemstone associated with it, which definitely make gift giving easier, each year you are married, symbolizes not one, but several gemstones. This gives you choices as to what type of gemstone jewelry to purchase for your other half. I have not listed all the years, but if you wish to know about a specific one, please email me.

1st Anniversary - opal, cat's eye, peridot, fresh water pearls
5Tth " - sapphire, spinel, turquoise, tourmaline
10th " - diamond, blue sapphire, emerald, jade, onyx, coral
15th " - diamond, ruby, rhodolite garnet, alexandrite
20th " - jade, emerald, yellow or golden diamond
25th " - tsavorite, green garnet
30th " - pearl, diamond
35th " - coral, emerald, jade
40th " - ruby
45th " - sapphire, cat's eye
50th " - golden topaz
55th " - emerald, alexandrite

I love this one, from the 56th anniversary onwards it diamonds all the way--buckets of diamonds, forever diamonds. Perhaps they will get bigger with every year that passes. We should all be blessed with such long anniversaries :)

Interesting Facts About Culture Pearls

The most sought after type of pearls when purchasing pearl jewelry are culture pearls. Most common and popular sizes that are purchased measure 7 and 7 1/2 mm. A young lady might receive a pair of pearl stud earrings as her first piece of pearl jewelry and from there her collection can grow over the years with matching pearl necklace, pearl pendant and pearl ring.

White pearls are the most popular in color, however, cream, black, silver, blue-grey, rose-silver are sought after too.

The rounder the pearl, the more valuable they are. Since culture pearls grow within oysters, it is not as common to find a perfectly round pearl.

While some natural markings occur on the surface of a pearl, too many can diminish its value. You want to avoid purchasing a pearl that has too many bumps or other spots.

If a pearl has a dull or chaulky feature, do not purchase it. You should see your reflection on the surface of the pearl--it should be bright.

Culture pearls include - freshwater, mabe, South Sea, Akoya.

A Discovery of Unique Gemstone Combinations

When you go into a jewelry store, some of the most common gemstone combinations you will see are diamonds set with pearls, rubies, emeralds and sapphires.

If you think outside the box, there is an incredible variety of gemstones that can be combined to create a unique masterpiece. You will be amazed to discover the unbelievable combinations.

Clear stones can be combined with opaque or translucent stones. Gemstones that have natural inclusions can be combined with clear stones.

Gemstones of similar colors can be set together to compliment or enhance each other's color, i.e. lime green peridot with emeralds, light blue aquamarine with sky blue topaz, pink tourmaline with rubies.

One of my favorite stones is moonstone. It can be combined with opals and sapphires for a truly magical combination. One of the intriguing features of moonstone is the stone's shimmer--the magical glow that glides across the surface of the stone (a.k.a adularescence) when combined with an opal with its brilliant flashes of color or the sparkle and blue of a sapphire--makes for a stunning and radiant piece of jewelry that will certainly command its fair share of compliments.

Be flamboyant, free-spirited and have fun in exploring all the dimensions of gemstones' colors.

I would love to hear from you and what some of your favorite combinations are.

Top Reasons Why People Wear Symbolic Jewelry

Your first piece of symbolic jewelry could have been given to you at your Christening or to your mother to mark your birth.

Symbolic jewelry represents or signifies a special occasion, accomplishment, celebration to honour someone, achievement, awareness of a cause or stand.

Religious medallions, Diploma's Numbers, Sayings, Keys are examples of symbolic pieces of jewelry.

Many are engraved with special and personal inscriptions, including the date to commemorate the occasion.

They speak volumes when give--I am proud of you", "Welcome to the World, Oh Precious One, "Congratulations on Your Achievements/Graduation", "You've Reached A Milestone".

One of my dearest and most cherished pieces is my first tooth that is encased in a gold setting and is worn as a charm on my bracelet.

For the person giving it to you, it symbolizes for them what you mean to them, how proud they are of you, they stand by you and support you, they honour you.

Jewelry can have an expression or meaning to the wearer that is unique to the individual.

As an example, the key can symbolize the key to one's heart, the key of life, hard work is the key of success and so on. As well, a key can represent new beginnings as you open the door to new opportunities.

When a person wears a symbolic piece, it is a part of who they are--it can be a collage of their life. They are conversation pieces, especially if the symbol is unique. A story begins to unfold as you relive experiences and share your stories with people.

Good memories, shared memories--a reflection of your past, present, future--eternal in your heart.